Aeroplane.



EJS. HALL.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18. 1914.

Patented Nov. 25, 191 6.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Mew/$243 E. S. HALL.

. AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18. 191-1 Patented Now 28, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- E. S. HALL.

AEROPLANE.

APPUCATION FILEDSEPT. 18, 19M.

@ 7 QQM ELIAS; S. HALL, MZIILLSTONE, NEW JERSIEYZ ennoenenn.

Specification of Lettcrslatenh l ,QQSASE.

.lpplieacion filen September To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ELIAS S. HALL, a citizen of the United Elf/ates. residing al.- Millstone, in the county of Somerset and Some of New Jersey, have il'wented certain new and useful lmprovements Aercplaiiies, of which the following is c speoificaiion.

This invention relates to aeroplanes, eml has primarily for its object to device an. ellicient means for preserving the equilibrium of the device in various altitudes Another object of the invention is to peel-- Lively preclude possibility of the usnal dipping when passing through varying chancepheric zones, at the seine time in no Way interfering with the operolion of the device or retarclingits movement.

A further object of the invention to fncilifale the cles'cenl; by, providing an airresisting 'foldolole crown member which serves in the dual cc Amity of shiftingple s, and being operable at the OPUOH of the occnpant to regllln'te the consistent with. the nir-pressln'e so as to co-acl; with the stabilizing means.

A still further ohjec't oi? {the invention to provide in eonjhnwtion with a means for shifting the center of gravity to maintain the eqnilih um of the aeroplane, en iniproved mecnenism by which the means for lifting thecenter of gravity is normally held in close proximity to the bottom. of the aeroplane, enclis manually releasable by the operaloir, and is readily retractable to its; normal position after the aeroplane has been. rightedr I Uther objects as Well. as the nature, char-- :icterlstic featnree anel scope of my invention we'll be more remlil a lerstoocl from f owing; fiescripliion 1 .811 in (EOlUW-(P lion. wixh the ilCCOll'l'fMll'ljmilfl clrewi 'e rnrl poineecl out in the claims forming e, p rl; of this specification.

:lleferring "co the drawings: Figure 1 is :1. top plan view of an aeroplane constructed in accordance with my invention, the fololable crown member being shown in open position. Fi 2 is 1V rear eleantlonal VlGW of the device. 3 is a, top plan View showing; the folclcble crown nienxher in closerl no sition, and disclosing he frame thereho neaflh. Fig. 4- is a seclpioi'ml' i W showing to ealventage men-nor in nich the crown folded or opened. .r-t i option of the BER. tor. 5 is :1- ilew e enlarged ele- Pmtenle n 1e, 1914. Serial No. seer-m.

rational view, p I I l. utilized or sni granty. Fig. 6 is a showing to o lvzn her on. the interior oil? the which the reminding drum is facilitated. lzionnl l'lPfi' of the men weight when the enter ol shiiited. l through one of one of the WOlg' elated; and Fig.

eeneer of 5. V ew oi the g2 memnpper nrnm, hf, cable on. the aside elevarelenemg the ing the crown o5 ln (he (innings wherein preferred einliiotlinle '5 ll frame generf l which in the es 2L pair of loi e n 5?, oblong Fannie n'ieniliers :irnl l, the for skeleton structure onrl he with a top and hotter n cow lzlie jointin-e of the frame m n :1 housing or llie ey'zrntor as: indiell is pro id: l has; mounted therein the opera to which lice in close proximity 1 by which. the means-z f r 21ml the eaoern Th means by being" a ficer provided 3 and El.

which lotion n which. h .I. a slmii''; engagei'nent when a xorlieal upon a heel. rie l by the ll \ilrnine ill; nnlur finn' gee ginnl SlIlC in lhelr enejngenien l one end thereoi' er Whilethe opposiln V pulley wheel 20 frame 12, uncl sul the bottom ol the with e Weight l e present.instance of 1' T'zillflil as shown 510 cable 22 law-1 one annular 93 rm 1 loin-nil fily p eses tljirongh :l. engaged 3' l '"ng in the lcall eonfiguin A -ciated with the hub 37 and ring over a pulley wheel 23, the latter being journaled onthe interior of the frame 12 in proximity to the bottom thereof, said cable passing through said bottom of the frame and being engaged with the weight 21.

Each of the drums has mounted therein a.

spring 24, one end of each of said springs on the frame 12, the opposite end of said cable being engaged with a spring drum 27 which is similar in configuration with the drums 13 and 14 and is relatively longer and. has engaged with oneend thereof a ratchet wheel 28, the drum 27 being normally held in' a locked position by a pawl 29 with which is engaged a foot pedal 30, the latter being held upwardly in spaced relation to the floor of the frame adjacent the operators seat by a coil spring 31 as shown to advantage in Fig. 7.

In order to prevent undue lateral displacement of the weight 21 while the aeroplane is in motion, guy ropes 32 are provided, one end of each of which is engaged with the upper face of the weight 21 and the opposite end thereof engaged with a drum 33, each of the latter being journaled on the opposite ends of the frame section 7, and having springs 34 mounted therein so as 'to normally hold the guy ropes 32 taut.

crown member 35 is carried by the aeroplane frame and comprises a plurality of folda'ble sections, the sections being made of an impervious material, the margins of each of the sections being engaged with arms. Upon reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings, it is seen that certain of the arms, which have been indicated in the drawings at 36, are stationary, the inner ends thereof being fixedly secured to a hub member 37 I while the opposite end of each is engaged with an annular ring 38. The remaining arms as indicated at 36' are movably asso- 38, through the medium of which the crown 35 is folded when desired, said movable arms being arranged in pairs and of a substantially V- shaped configuration, so that each pair of said movable arms are simultaneously able for either opening or closing the crown member 35, The movable arms are-engaged by arcuate'securing members 39 through the instrumentality of which the movable-arms 36' are permitted to be simultaneously moved.

a In order to operate the crown member oper- 35, operating cables40 are provided, one end ofeach of said cables being in engagement with one pair of movable arms, while the opposite ehd of each is fixedly engaged with a wheel 41 by which the crown 35 is folded, each of said Wheels 41 bein normally held in a locked position by a p unger 42, said plunger being engaged with the inner face of the wheel, the latter having a portion thereof formed to provide a ratchet 43: in order to insure a positive looking at all times, in view of a spring 44 which is encircled on the shank of the plunger 42 between a. pair of guides 45, the upper ends of the latter being formed to provide eyes through which the plunger 42 operates. A releasing pedal 46 is pivotally connected to one of the guides 45, and has the upper end thereof in engagement with the head of the plunger 42 so as to release the same from the wheel 41 as soon as pressure is exerted on the pedal 46, when it is desired to operate the wheel 41' for opening the crown member 35, since the latter is normally held in closed position by elastic strips 47. Brace members 48 are engaged with each of the slidable arms 36' and with a plate 49 which is mounted on a central shaft 50 which extends from the hub member 37 the mechanism for shifting the center of gravity is in its normal position as shown to advantage in Fig. 2 and the crown member 35 is folded as shown to advantage in Fig. 3 and it is desired to operate the aeroplane, the crown member 35 is operated by first releasing the plungers 42 from the wheels 41 so as to permit the actuation of said wheels when pressure is exerted thereon by the operator whom we will-assume is in position in the seat 11, pressure on the ,wheels 41'causing the slidable arms 36 to be operated, thereby expanding the crown member 35, so as to resist the air, the crown member being expanded only a sufiicient distance consistent with the air pressure which is required in order to obtain the initial movement of the aeroplane from the earth. When the crown member 35 has been extended to the desired point, pressure is releasedfrom the pedal 46, causing the wheels 41 to be automatically locked for holding the crown member 35 in a predetermined position. When traveling in altitudes, should it be desired to operate the weight 21 so as to shift the center of gravity, pressure is exerted on the foot pedal 30, thereby permitting the weight to drop, since the weight is sufiicient to overcome the resistance of the springs in the drums 13, 14, 27and 33, at the same time permitting the weight 21 to be moved laterally automatically according to the direction in which the aeroplane is being displaced. After the aeroplane has been righted, and it is desired incense to elevate the wei t all, pressure exerted on the drum o rotate the same, thereby elevating the weight 21', which is facilitated in View of the fact that while the weight is in a lowered position, the springs in the drums above ed to are under tension, and since the f is made to be sufficient merely to overco the resistance of the springs, it is seen that very little pressure on the drum will be recoil-ed,

it will be understonil that the above description and accon'ipanying drawings comprehend only the ii and preferred embodiment of my i :ntion and that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within she scope of the appended claims and without sacrifiiiaing any of the advantages of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 1. [in aeroplaneinclin jog a frame, a foldable crown structure associated with said frame elastic elements for normally holding said structure in a. f We "weir-ion, operat ing cables eaten id structure and operable by the the aeroplane for opening said strnci'zure am-l means can ried in frame and in connccpion with said cables to hold the same is apredctermined position whereby the crown structure is held in a predetermined adjusted position.

ga-ged' with movable portions of adjacent segments to simultaneously more the latter.

3. An aeroplane including a frame, a crown structure associated with said frame comprising a plurality of sections which are independently actuable, means carried by said frame for actuating said sections independently of each other, means mounted in saidframe for locking said sections in a predetermined open position, means for normally holding said sections in a folded position, and means carried by said framefor cooperation with said crown sections to pre- 'serve the equilibrium of said frame in altitudes. i

4. An aeroplane including a frame, an

.airresisting crown superimposed on the frame and foldable thereon to decrease the air resistance, and to occupy a minimum amount of space when not in use, said crown comprising a plurality of independently operable sections, whereby any one of said sections may be operatively positioned for atmospherical impact at a predetermined point.

An aeroplane including a frame, a foldable crown superposed on the frame, said crown being relatively flat to provide a substantially air-impinging surface remote from said frame, said crown being of a circular contour to permit CQilStrTClJlOIl of the same in segmental sections, whereby any section of the crown may be operatively positioned at the desired angle on the frame.

In testimony whereof I aflix'lny signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELIAS S. HALL. Witnesses UAaoLiNn G, S. HAGEMAN, BENJAMIN B. HAGEMAN. 

